Head Girl: Blessing or Curse?
by Enchanted Roses
Summary: Hermione Granger was thrilled upon receiving the position of Head Girl... at first. Would it turn out as great as she had expected? Or will it cause her nothing but pain and stress?


It was the morning. Generally she hated the mornings, but this one seemed so lovely and peaceful. She could tell, and she hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Slowly, ever so slowly, she gracefully lifted herself out of bed. The soft carpet, she noted, felt good on her bare feet. As she walked across the room and headed down the stairs, she noticed how quiet it was; strange. But it felt good. She had not had a morning like this in such a long time. Her mind was blissfully unaware; there were no pressing manners in her head. It felt good. This was a moment that she wanted to last forever. She was with no special people— just herself. There was no particular happiness or excitement or love. She simply felt an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment. She knew it wouldn't last forever. One word spoken or one harsh sound made would destroy the moment forever, never to be returned to unless in her thoughts. Even yet, she could feel the mood slowly ebbing away as she began to prepare for her day. And so she sat, cherishing the feeling for as song as she could before she had to say goodbye.

She was sitting in her window seat, hugging her legs to her chest, and was watching the little activity occurring outside her window. One little bird flew into the grass. He hopped around, most likely looking for something to eat. It suddenly looked up, as if startled, and then flew away. There was nothing that she could see or hear that might have frightened the happy bird. She was puzzled for only a moment before she saw an owl flying towards her house. She opened the window; letting the cool and refreshing air in. The owl swooped inside, landing next to her on her window seat. She didn't recognize it, so she assumed it must be a school owl.

Sure enough, as she opened the letter, she discovered that her assumption was correct. It was her yearly school letter. She quickly skimmed through the familiar writing. A pleased smile crept onto her face as she read the exciting news: she was Head Girl this year. It was what she had worked for ever since she was in her fist year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After sitting there for a moment and dreaming of the next year and how she might use her position, she quickly got up and mailed letters to Harry and Ron, telling them the good news and asking if either one of them had made Head Boy. She was home alone, and had no one else to share her excitement with, so she went downstairs to search for Crookshanks to tell him. He was always a good listener.

After having a quality conversation with her cat, she pondered on what to do the rest of the day. Her parents were gone on vacation, leaving her at her house by herself. She was completely content being home alone for a week or two though. Hermione was a big girl and she could fend for herself. Her parents would be returning in two days any way. She supposed she may as well do a little tidying up here and there, despite the fact that the house was nearly spotless as it was.

Hermione loved her house. It was where she grew up, and the only other place which competed for the most special place in her heart was Hogwarts. By no means was the home her parents raised her in little, but it was not massive either. Her mother, she thought, did a superb job in decorating—simple yet elegant. As a result, that was how Hermione learned to like things.

As an only child, Hermione's parents had a tremendous impact on her life; more so than most parents. Growing up, Hermione did not have very many friends. She was different, and she could do weird things that most children couldn't. There were many occasions in which her magic crept out. She was a very powerful witch. One such occasion stuck out vividly in her mind.

Hermione was ten years old at that time. She had finally made a new friend. She was a very nice and pretty girl named Elizabeth, and Hermione and she got along splendidly. One spring afternoon, they were walking home from school together when they saw a poor, starving dog chained up. Hermione had a big heart, and she couldn't stand to see anything in such misery.

She slowly walked up to the dog and began to untie it when the owner walked up. He was a handsome boy in his teenage years.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm letting the poor dog go. He's starving to death," she replied somewhat shyly.

"It's my dog, I'll do what I want with the ugly thing! Go away. You're just a stupid little girl who doesn't know anything," he said harshly. Even then, Hermione did not like to be insulted or underestimated. As the words sank in, the fury slowly built up inside of her. He had touched on two places he shouldn't have; he insulted her intelligence, and he treated something which could not stick up for itself unjustly. Her face turned red with anger. She stomped her foot on the ground in anger, and at the same time the chain broke loose, allowing the dog to run away. All the while several other things happened to the owner of the dog. Most noticeably, his face broke out with a million pimples, his hair turned green, and he shrunk several inches so that he was no longer tall and handsome.

"I am _not_ a stupid little girl! Never insult my intelligence again." She said this calmly, which was even more frightening than if she would have screamed it. After kicking the dirt in front of him, she ran home, still in a fury.

After that, Elizabeth refused to talk to her. "You're weird, Hermione," she had said. "No one should be able to do stuff like that. It's creepy" Somehow it spread around school and elsewhere even further that Hermione could do strange things. Everyone was afraid of her. Now there were even less people who would even be civil towards her, let alone friendly. A year later she went to Hogwarts, hoping to have a fresh start. She would be surrounded by people just like her. Or so she thought. Still, she didn't fit in.

That was another reason why she was so close to her parents. She had no other friends. Her parents loved her unconditionally. She was their pride and joy. Her father and she spent hours reading and discussing anything they could think of.

Hermione read and studied so much in her younger years because that was everything she had. She had no friends, and so she clung to learning. Learning gave her a sense of power, a sense of comfort. In times of trouble or stress, she would bury herself in her books. They were almost like a wall to her; a wall of protection. Knowledge gave her power, and she understood that quite well.

After cleaning what little there was to clean in her house, she received an owl from Ron and Harry. They were both staying at headquarters presently.

The letter read:

_Hermione,_

_Dumbledore offered Harry Head Boy, but he didn't want it. Then he offered me, but I turned him down. Why would I want a job like that? I couldn't goof off as much. So now we're not sure about who's going to get it. I thought I heard Dumbledore muttering something about the Ravenclaw prefect, so maybe he'll get it. Either way, we're all very proud of you. You've worked hard for this and you definitely deserve it. Oh, Mum sends her congratulations also._

_We would love to meet you at Diagon Alley. We're going tomorrow. Can you make it then?_

_Much love,_

_Ron_

_(And Harry)_

Hermione smiled after reading the letter. It was always so good receiving letters form either one of them during the summer. She missed them both so much when they weren't together, and she happily anticipated seeing them the next day.

_Dear Ron and Harry, _she wrote.

_Tomorrow sounds wonderful! Being able to apparate makes traveling so much easier! How about we meet at the Leaky Cauldron at ten o'clock sharp? _

_I cannot believe you _both_ turned Dumbledore down for Head Boy! Do you know what an honor it is? Well anyways, thanks for your support._

_I'll see you both tomorrow!_

_Love, _

_Hermione _

The next day Hermione showed up at the Leaky Cauldron at eight o'clock in the morning. She wanted to get some shopping done on her own first. She later made it back to their meeting place at 10:05 knowing they would be there at least fifteen minutes late.

Not long after, however, she noticed several redheads sticking close together and knew she had found the Weasleys.

"Ron!" she shouted. He was nearest to her. He turned around sharply at hearing his name and grinned when he had spotted her.

"Hermione!" he waved. "There you are!" She ran over to the group and hugged each and every one of them in greeting. Each time she saw them again after the summer (or even half way through it), she was surprised at how much she missed them. She would even miss them if it had only been two or three weeks since last she saw them. The Golden Trio, as they were often called, truly was inseparable.

They spent the rest of the day shopping for their school supplies and spending time with each other. They all had such a wonderful time that day that Harry, Hermione, and Ron agreed to meet the next day also.

Before Hermione knew it, the two days were over and she was awaiting her parents' return. The rest of the summer (which happened to be only a week and a half) flew by amazingly fast. After her parents had gotten home, she had spent the remainder of summer vacation spending quality time with them.

The next she knew, Hermione was at King's Cross on September 1st. She was one-hundred percent ready to begin her important duty as Head Girl. What more could she have worked towards during her time at Hogwarts? And now that it was finally here, she was thrilled. Yet still she was curious as to who Heady Boy would be. She had not been able to figure it out.

Both the Head Girl and the Head Boy had to be at the station two hours early so that they could be given instructions on their duties and responsibilities. Hermione was there five minutes earlier than she needed to be, just to prove that she really _was _responsible. No one else was there yet, so she sat in the Head's cabin and got out all of the things that she would need to take notes. It had only been two minutes since she arrived when Draco Malfoy showed up.

"Ah, thought so," he said, grimacing and acting as if he had just discovered a disgusting disease in a patient.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? The train doesn't leave for another two hours!" Hermione said. She was quite confused as to his behavior and appearance on the train.

"Yes, but I could ask you the same question couldn't I, Granger? Or do you always show up two hours before the train leaves?" By now Malfoy had come in and made himself comfortable.

"I, Malfoy, am supposed to arrive early because I am Head Girl this year. Now, if you would just leave me alone, I'm trying to study," she said haughtily.

"Ah, but Granger… I made Head Boy this year. So _I_ am where I'm supposed to be also," he replied.

"Unbelievable," Hermione said as the truth began to sink in. "Unbelievable! You mean I'm stuck working with _you _for the rest of the year? Dumbledore has gone mad! I can't do this!"

"Well you better believe it, because you _are _doing it, whatever _it_ is," he replied, being a smart mouth.

"Okay, Malfoy. Ha-ha. Joke's over. Go away now," Hermione insisted. She didn't find this joke humorous at all. But oh how she _hoped_ this was a joke.

"No joke, Granger. I'm Head Boy." Malfoy said, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Why does this always happen to me?" She asked absolutely no one in general while making exaggerated gestures. "But it's okay. I can handle this. I always do, right? It's not that hard. Just calm yourself down, Hermione." She then closed her eyes and began taking deep, slow breaths. Within a moment, she opened her eyes, and with a fake smile on her face, she said, "Hello, Draco. Congratulations on making Head Boy. I'm _so_ glad you're here!" Draco raised one eyebrow in amusement, and was about to make another snide remark when the glass door slid open and none other than Professor McGonagall herself walked in. _Bloody great, I'm stuck on a train with _two _Gryffindors now, _Draco thought_. It doesn't get much better than this. _

"Good morning, Miss Granger," she said, nodding her head at Hermione. "Mr. Malfoy," she nodded in greeting to him also. "I am pleased you have both made Head Boy and Girl this year. Now, if you wouldn't mind, we have much to do so we shall begin." The next hour and a half McGonagall went over everything they would possibly need to know for the whole next school year and maybe even the rest of their lives. She covered everything form how to direct the prefects in an orderly manner to what they should do if they ever found a dragon in the girls' lavatory. "It might happen, you know," she said. "You should always be prepared.

By the end of her speech, Draco felt sorry he had ever accepted the position. It would require much more effort than he expected, and he wouldn't be able to just laze around all year like planned. Hermione was extremely nervous at first also. Not only would it be really hard to keep up with her school work, and studying for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests at the end of the year, but she also had the extremely time-consuming duty of being a head—shared with none other than Draco Malfoy himself. She was sure that he was planning on leaving all the work to her already. Little did she know how wrong she was. Draco was determined to be the best—at everything, Even if it meant working as hard as Hermione bloody Granger. Well, _almost_ as hard. No one could work as hard as her and live to tell of the experience. It just wasn't possible. But he would try, because he _had_ to be better than her. There was no choice in the matter.

"Now, I am confident that you are both more than capable of keeping up with your studies as well as the _very important_ task of being heads," McGonagall finished up. "However, there has been some concern from me and the rest of the staff at Hogwarts as to how well you two will work together. I know you both might have a—_past_—behind you, but we are all confident that you can overcome it to at least work civilly with one another. If not, I am afraid that you will _both_ lose your positions." Neither one of the two teens sounded pleased to hear that. But Professor McGonagall looked as serious, if not more, as she ever did, and they knew it was no joke.

"Consider that your first warning," she continued. "Students will begin arriving in about fifteen minutes. I expect you both to work out whatever you can as soon as I leave, as well as after you have your meeting with the prefects. You are to both stay in here the rest of the way to Hogwarts, patrolling the halls for a short time only once or twice each. I'm sure the prefects will keep things under control just fine. Am I clear?" There was a long pause before either one of them said anything.

"Yes, Professor," Hermione muttered.

McGonagall looked at Malfoy, expecting a reply from him also. After a moment, she caught his attention by saying, "Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Professor," He finally managed, looking as if it were the hardest thing he ever had to say.

"I once again strongly caution you to work things out. You will not like the results if you do not," she warned before disapparating and leaving the new Head Boy and Head Gril in silence. Neither one wanted to speak first, but Hermione was slowly beginning to crack. The silence was killing her. That and she just couldn't disobey a direct order form one of her Professors like that, especially Professor McGonagall. Her only problem was that she didn't know what to say.

_I'll just tell him that he had better not make me lose my head position or I'll hunt him down and avada him myself. No, that's not very civil. Maybe I should ask him if he wants to be my friend…._

_Who am I kidding? I would rather shoot myself with a muggle gun than be his friend! So much for that great idea…_

_I suppose I'll just wing it. I really don't want to get in trouble, and Dumbledore will know if we don't work things out. He always does. And anyways, who cares if I make a fool of myself? I sure don't—that much. _

"Malfoy?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, Granger?" he replied as if it were killing him to even talk to her.

"Look, I quite frankly don't want to do this with you, but neither one of us wants to give up our head positions. So I guess we're just going to have to work something out so we can tolerate each other. That and I am sure whatever McGonagall has planned for us if we don't will not be very pleasant for either of us," she reasoned.

"Look, Granger. I'm not going to be your friend if that's what you're asking," Malfoy stated.

"Of course not! I'd rather avada myself on the spot than be your friend! Are you going bonkers? I'm just saying we should be civil towards one another for the rest of the year. Not nice or 'friendly'. We should just come up with a few rules or something so we can keep our positions," she suggested.

"Alright, it sounds fair to me; but not because I like you or anything. I still detest you," he clarified, as if Hermione would ever think otherwise. She had to try hard not to roll her eyes at him.

"And I you, Malfoy. There, now that we're clear, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, I do. Don't stare at me like I'm going to jump you whenever I walk by. I'm not a mass murderer, and it's getting annoying having you always gawk at me like I am."

"Okay, but don't call me a mudblood or a muggle born, ever."

"As long as you stop acting as if you're better than the rest of the world."

"That's fair, but _you_ have to do the same."

"Fine. But get Pothead and Weasel off my back. They're even worse than you at acting like I'm going to kill the whole school any second."

"Alright, but as long as you don't pick fights with us and stop insulting us."

"Fine."

"And we should call each other by first names. It's simply rude to work with each other and still use last names. We should set a good example for the rest of the school."

"Okay, okay," he said, looking the most annoyed about this suggestion. "But only because I know you'll never get off my case if I don't agree."

"So basically, we'll ignore each other unless we're doing Head's business. And then we'll only be strictly civil, nothing more is required. Deal?" She inquired, sticking out her hand for him to shake.

He simply stared at her hand for a while, debating on whether or not to shake it. Finally he decided it couldn't be that bad (and who knows what would happen if he didn't), so he grabbed her hand, and looking into her eyes he said, "Deal," strictly business.

"Excellent," she said, pulling out a piece of parchment while saying, "I think we should write down the rules and sign them, just to make sure. And I'm going to charm it, so don't try to get away with anything."

Just as they had finished signing the parchment, the first prefects walked in. The meeting ran smoothly; even more than expected. At the end, she remembered that Harry, Ginny, and Ron would be expecting her to spend the rest of the train ride with them. Before Ron and Ginny left, she pulled them aside and told them that she had to spend the remaining time in the Heads' cabin.

"But _why_, Hermione?" Ron whined.

"McGonagall said so. It's quite frustrating really. I'm really sorry, you guys. But I'll meet you up at the school. Tell Harry I'm sorry."

"It's fine, 'Mione. _We're_ sorry that you're stuck with him. Rotten luck isn't it?" Ginny condoled. Hermione simply nodded her head. "Well, see you at school. I hope everything goes okay." And they were gone.

Once again, Draco and Hermione were sitting in the Heads' cabin in silence. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she had first thought. I mean, sure he was a jerk. And he was always in such sour moods. But he wouldn't be calling her a mudblood or constantly insulting her. He wouldn't if he were smart anyways.

The rain was pouring down outside, and it was already dark. Hermione loved it when it rained. It was so calming to her. It was almost nice being able to stay in the Heads' cabin. She had plenty of time just to think and to listen to the rain. She doubted Malfoy—no, she meant _Draco_—would start up a conversation any time soon. Unless he wanted something, that is, and she couldn't imagine what he could possibly want.

Of course, the day was full of surprises, and everything Hermione expected turned out being the opposite. Ginny was right; she really did have rotten luck today.

"Just out of curiosity, what did you charm the parchment with? What happens if we break the rules?" he asked.

"Remember fifth year and what happened to that Ravenclaw who snitched us out?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I remember. I don't think _anyone_ is going to forget about that soon," he said.

"Well this time it will be worse," she said frankly.

"_Worse_?" he asked. He couldn't imagine it getting much worse than that without being downright torture. "_How much_ worse?"

"Lots worse…" she said, not revealing any more.

"What exactly will happen?" he asked. He really wanted to know.

"I'm not telling you," she said. She loved the fact that she knew something that he didn't, and wanted to know really bad.

"Why not?" He _didn't_ like that fact.

"Because I think it's better if you don't know," she replied.

"How come?"

"Just because. Now stop bugging me about it. I'm not going to tell." This just made his curiosity even worse. But he would drop it for now. Maybe he could figure out in a different, sneakier way.

"How do you do the charm anyways?" he asked. He was looking at her during the conversation, but Hermione mostly stared out the window while they talked instead. She would have felt awkward if they were having a near normal conversation _and_ they made eye contact, no matter the kind.

"It's in the seventh year charms book. I suppose you'll be learning it later this year. I've heard mention that it's on the NEWT's."

"Oh," he said, looking out the window also.

"I expect we'll be arriving soon," Hermione said, looking at her watch. She wanted to change into her school robes, but she needed Malfoy to leave first.

"Yes, soon." He said, still staring out the window. It didn't look like he planned on leaving any time quickly, so she decided she would have to be the one to.

"I'm going to go change into my robes," she said. Draco watched as she pulled her trunk down and opened it up. Right on top were laying her school robes. He noticed how organized her whole trunk was. He wasn't surprised. She seemed like the organized type of person. Perfect: that was the best way to describe her. She earned perfect grades, she had what the world thought were the perfect friends, she was currently in the perfect position—everything she did was perfect, and it drove him nuts.

After getting everything she needed, she left the room to use the lavatory to change. Draco decided he had better change also before she came back. When she returned, they didn't have any more conversations. They just sat in silence until the train stopped. They gathered their stuff in silence, and left in silence; though they did walk next to one another. Not because they were trying to. It just sort of happened that way.

They stepped off the train, hearing Hagrid's familiar call for first years.

"Hello, Hagrid!" Hermione waved. He waved back. Still Draco and Hermione walked together until they got into the Head's carriage. There was not a noise except for the sound of the rain softly pattering down onto their carriage, and the wheels turning over and over against the gravel.

Minutes later Hermione walked into the Great Hall. One would think that all the noise and chaos, students running past her and catching up with one another, would make her anxious, uptight, or at the very least excited. But it was calming to her. Walking into the Great Hall and being surrounded by excited students on the first day of school was one of her favorite things. She smiled and took in a deep breath. However dim her seventh year at Hogwarts was turning out to look, she was still more than content to be there. She wished that she could stay in her seventh year for much, much longer than she was supposed to. But she couldn't. She would stay just as long as everyone else did. But she was determined to have a good year, and she would cherish every moment she had.

Without really realizing it, she had already made it over to Harry, Ron, and Ginny where they had saved her a seat.

"Hi guys," she said smiling.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry grinned at her. "I see you've made it out alive."

She smiled back and joked saying, "Yes, barely though. How was the trip for you guys?"

"It was okay. It would have been better if you were with us though," Harry said trying to give her a guilt trip.

"Oh come on, Harry! It's not my fault! Honestly!" she said laughing.

"I know. I'm just playing with you. But how is it going anyways, Head Girl? Is Malfoy being a jerk?"

"He was at first," Hermione replied, "but now he's better. He has to be, really. McGonagall said that if we don't get along, or at least act civilly to one another, both of us will lose our Head positions. So we came up with a list of rules we have to follow, and then signed them. I charmed the parchment of course, so he's not really going to like it if he breaks any of our rules," she smiled mischievously. "So I guess it's not going to be as bad as I thought it would at first."

After she had said that, Dumbledore stood up to give his annual beginning of the term speech, and so no one could say anything else on the topic. The subject of Malfoy didn't come up for the rest of the night. Hermione was grateful because she didn't want to dwell on it anymore. She wanted to just take things as they came, and not worry about everything. The rest of her night mysteriously turned out better than her day had been.

Later that night, she lay in her familiar bed, having hopeful thoughts of how the year would turn out.

Thanks so much for reading, guys. I really appreciate it. I'd love it if you guys gave me positive feedback. And if you know of anyone who would want to beta for me let me know. Thanks again!


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